How long does it take for a beginner to start making profits?

Hi, I am a newbie to the Forex Market. Can any one tell me the average time for a newbie to start making any amount of profits? Of course, if you are a disciplined one. I will start my free demo and I want to know if there is any hope for the future!!!

When i first got into forex, i said to myself that i will practice on demo account for 6 months before going live. But 3 weeks into research and study, everything just clicked and i am trading my live account 3 days now. Havent made any big money yet, but all the trades i placed were positive. And that what gives me more confidence in myself. I am still keeping my trades to its minimum but if everything works out well then i will start thinking about bringing more money in so i can place bigger orders.

Thank you for your comments. So it took three weeks to start making any profits? I have some hope!!!

I plan on trade on my demo account for 2 months and study at least 4 hours a day…do you think I have a chance?

Thank you again for your input

well theres no reason you cant start making profits the day you go live. Of course you have to have a sound trading plan and demo’d a while. ive been trading a month now and i’m making a healthy profit.

It shouldn’t take longer than 12 months if your’e working a full-time job. If it does, you’re doing something very wrong IMHO.

Anyways, this is the 1st month since October I’ve ever been positive, that’s 4 months for me…but I work part-time and still work very hard to keep my head screwed on tight. Work your arse off, and things will click. Studies show that it takes anywhere from 18-30days to develope a habit (good or bad), and about 2-3 months to implement it succesfully…so it’s important that you do things the way you conciously know they shold be done…emmulate the pro’s…and avoid developing bad habits consistently (blowing accounts, taking trades on false signals, greed, fear, etc). Learn from your mistakes, write it down, and vow never to do it again.

Cheers,
Josef Benjamin

Thank you for your input. From all the answers I already received I think a good goal could be 2 months to 3 months!!!

Let see if any one else replies to this message

Thank you!!!

To be honest you cant really put a time frame on it, i first looked into forex 6 months ago, and dropped it 2 weeks later cause i didnt know what the heck i was looking at, all my trades in demo were negative. But it was always in the back of my mind, untill i took it seriously few months later. I spent alot of time reading forums, and understanding other peoples trading habits. And now that i understand the basics, more complicated stuff makes sence. I would suggest to start readnig into it now, and you will know when the time is right.

No sir, It’s easy to think you will make money b/c you’ve been doing so well on a demo account, but that is very false…unless you’ve had previous expereince trading (and succesfully i might add), then it should be a pretty quick transition.

However, in your case and many other beginners, it is not.

He also said he got comfortable with his trading style, rules, and plan to make the leap…as I have after only about 1 month of demo trading, but that in no way means he will see consistent profits right off the back. He to will go through months of trial and error, fustration, and mental anguish before he see’s the slightest bit consistency, I assure you of that, assuming he has the drive to stick through the obstacles.

It’s not a question of how he or mines or anybody else makes that transition into consistency, what matters most is how you come to that realization for yourself.

So there you have it. the only hope you have is the hope you bring out from within…It is not a matter of what everyone else is doing, but what YOU are doing that really counts for anything. It’s inspirational sure, but that’s all it is. Your own achievements are the only achievements that will ever count for anything in this business.

4hours a day studying is not bad, but keep in mind that you get out what you put in.

So to end this, b/c I want to eat my yummy chocalate icecream…do YOU believe YOU have a fighting chance to succeed in this business?

Hopefully this post has inspired you in some way, and if not now, come back in a few months, and take another hard look at it. :slight_smile:

Cheers and Goodluck.
J.Benjamin

It only takes a week to become profitable. The problem is, it takes the same amount of time to blow your account.

Being consistent is hard. And well worth it.

I hope the best for your trading. Trade well.

All depends on how quickly you can assimilate all the information
that you will be bombarded with, then how quickly or how well
you can kerb any gambling urge you may have.

Anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, dependant upon how much
time you spend on the above.

Keep us informed of your progress it is a great adventure.

Thanks to all of you for your comments!!!

Daydreamer65, can you describe for me the typical training routine of someone who achieves this goal in 6 months? and the difference with someone who achieves it in 3 years?

I now that it will take a lot of effort and steady training

Thanks in advance

IMHO many newbies make more profits and have better returns than other traders…so to respond to your question: they make profits right away.
The problem happens when they go live and they get slaughtered.
than you begin the long journey of trading…and the sooner you stop worring about “when i will be profitable” the better you will get.
Remember that some RUN because they have to, other RUN because they like it.
So trade because you like it, not because you have to!
GL M8

Daydreamer65, can you describe for me the typical training routine of someone who achieves this goal in 6 months? and the difference with someone who achieves it in 3 years?

I need to add another trader to this list, the one who will never
be profitable & give up long before the 3 years.

training routine of someone who achieves this goal in 6 months?

Dedicated, disciplined, patient, understands each piece of the jigsaw
& doesn’t skip a step.

Demo trade until you are comfortable with your platform, your broker,
your trading plan, which includes your trading system. Demo with the
amount of money you are willing to invest.

When you go live do not deviate from any of the above. You have
a winning system in demo it will work in live. Try not to be under capitalised,
if you are trade to that level. Trade 1 cent/pips if that is how large your
account is, [B][U]do not gamble[/U][/B], trade.

The 3 year trader is exactly the same except the steps are distorted
by a number of reasons, greed, impatience, etc. But eventually they
know that they can trade, they haven’t lost too much money but along
the way they have attained the trading plan & system.

They control their greed, a winning system instils patience, they basically
have seen the light.

[U][B]Be honest with yourself[/B][/U] or the saying is [B][U]“to yourself be true”[/U][/B]

Nice post daydreamer65. I agree.

I have a question probably simple for some of you, however i’m not sure on what to really do. Right now I am currently enrolled in college and I have a year and half left. I’ve been reading things on Forex for quite some time, then I stopped however because I became to busy with school. Now during my xmas break I have been reading forums and went through the school here on babypips, I’ve been probably reading for about anywhere from 3-6 hours a day. I just started using MT4 again just kinda getting use to what I should look for and try to figure out how to use indicators and which I think work for me. Do you recommend actually signing up with a real forex dealer and working on their platform for a few months, or is it okay if I just stick with MT4 and trade on that? Also, when I start a real account, as i said im in college and do not have a whole lot of money. So would it be feasible to actually start an account with like $250 and trade on oanda since they trade smaller accounts. Thank you ahead of time for any responses.

Oanda have a demo account which never expires, so you can
demo that until you are ready to go live.

But if you only have $250 get your demo account to that level,
which makes it a little bit more real.

Then when you open your live account with Oanda you can
trade exactly the same way.

[I]“Can any one tell me the average time for a newbie to start making any amount of profits? - Carlinho”[/I]

Not sure this can really be answered, Depends on the newbie…

Some Newbies have no probelm understand the Forex Lingo, as they come from a different Market and already grasp most of the concepts.

Other Newbies have probelms, with having to totally start from scratch with every aspect of investing concepts. From leverage, Risk, Charts, Candlesticks, down to what does Short or Long mean. ;o/

If your refering to the latter, I would say don’t rush it by looking at timeframes others did it in, the others won’t be next to you when your trading. and seriously read, read, backtest, demo, backtest, demo, and demo. Currency Markets can crush a total newbie…

You’ll know when “your” ready…

If a newbie rushes through it based on achieving some imaginary timeframe to be successful by, it will be the most expensive schooling he will ever achieve as the sharks school the minnow when he goes live. Best thing he could ever do is not put a timeframe on it, what does it matter if it takes a day or a year to be successful? The knowledge once attained will pay the newbie back many times over. ;o)

Kangi

Unforunately Oanda only lets you set your balance to $1000 minimum so you would have to purposely lose $750 to get yor balance down which is not a good way to start practicing in my opinion :D. You don’t want to see that RED negative number everything you make a trade because it might mess with your head. Your better off starting with $1000 which is a more realistic starting figure because most people would lose their balance getting too impatient trading .01/pip. Good Luck to you!

Topgun

Honestly, if you can try, and succeed at consistently losing money- there’s no reason why you can’t do the opposite. Dropping $750 is just as good of practice as gaining $750.

Now, if you’re trying to make money, and you’re consistently losing- that’s a whole other story…

Your better off starting with $1000 which is a more realistic starting figure because most people would lose their balance getting too impatient trading .01/pip.

The pip value is immaterial, the exercise is to be profitable.

If you can make 200 pips/week, every week, at the same time
gaining experience of the markets, plus finding a system which
works for you in a stress free environment, when you do finally
start to move up through the levels, you will have the confidence
in your system to achieve your goals.

The statement above is the reason so few traders succeed & blow
not just $1000. It takes patience to trade successfully, if you
ain’t got it you may as well leave your money in the bank, or
try MLM or internet marketing.